taliban Church Will Shoulder Cost for Release of Hostages
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Sammul Church said Thursday that it will pay the government all the costs incurred for releasing the 19 hostages held in Afghanistan.
In a press conference, the chief church pastor said the Bundang-based church, which sent the aid group to Kabul, will pay all financial costs such as airfare, of transferring the dead bodies and freed hostages, to the government.
The commitment was made after the government announced that it will seek compensation from the church as all costs linked to the 41-day hostage crisis came from taxpayers' money.
It is the first time for the government is to seek compensation from any organization in Korea for freeing hostages.
Taliban militants have freed 12 of the 19 Korean hostages in three groups in Ghazni Province, following Tuesday's agreement with Korean negotiators. Under the deal, South Korea reaffirmed a pledge to pull 210 non-combatant troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, as previously planned, and agreed to prevent any evangelical activities in the Central Asian nation by South Korean churches.
Critics say South Korea probably paid a huge ransom for the hostages, although both Seoul and the Tabliban denied that a ransom had been paid. Earlier reports said the militant group demand $500,000 per hostage.
The 19 hostages were part of a group of 23 Christian volunteers kidnapped by the Taliban in the province on July 19, while traveling on bus in Ghazni Province. The extremists killed two men in the group and later released two women.
The Taliban have agreed to free the remaining seven hostages Thursday, government officials said. All the freed hostages will be transported to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, after brief medical checkups at a nearby U.S. military base.
The hostages are likely to arrive at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Saturday, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, adding that they will be subsequently hospitalized at the Severance Hospital in Seoul to be examined by doctors.
``Now our focus is on the safe release of all the hostages,'' the official said. ``But after the hostages return home, we will deal with the indemnity issue.''
``The government will first request compensation for the cost of airfare, the transfer of dead bodies, and expenses for the transportation and medical treatment of the captives,'' said the official. He said details will be further discussed with the hostage families and the church.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the mediator for Korea-Taliban face-to-face negotiations, said the recently freed hostages _ 10 women and two men _ appeared to be in good health.